Renewed buyer interest may cushion Austin’s fall.
After years of rising competition and home values, Austin tumbled to one of the most lopsided markets in the country this summer with 124 percent more sellers than buyers. Austin has 6.3 months inventory, and Travis County has 6.9, according to Unlock MLS.
However, sales and volume are up in the city. Total dollar volume increased year over year to almost $700 million, a 4.3 percent bump.
Pending sales were also up year over year in the Austin metro in August for the fourth month in a row. The Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos area closed out the month with 2,669 contracts pending, an 8.2 percent increase over last August.
“That indicates that sustained buyer interest is out there, even as we head into the traditionally slower fall months,” said Unlock MLS and Austin Board of Realtors president Brady Wuensch.
Buyers are canceling purchases at record rates, especially in Texas. As a result, it’s worth wondering how many of the pending sales in Austin will finalize.
On the other hand, the effects of the Fed’s Wednesday interest rate cut are just as worthy of speculation.
“I think buyers and sellers have both recalibrated their expectations before waiting for the dramatic rate drops that we’ve seen in the last couple years,” Wuensch said.
As one developer put it, the Austin area is “right-sizing” after a few years of seller dominance. In 2020 and 2021, the city had one of the fastest-appreciating home markets in the country.
Austin proper shows stronger vitals than some surrounding areas. Travis County, Williamson County, Hays County and the MSA overall registered a year-over-year decline in the number of residential homes sold, but Austin saw a 2 percent bump over last August with 900 homes sold.
Despite signs of buyer interest, the city of Austin itself isn’t out of a buyer’s market yet, Wuensch said.
“For buyers and sellers, we’re seeing everybody be a bit more strategic,” Wuensch said. “We’re obviously not in the hot seller’s market.”
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